> s that you don’t need to keep digital data’s metadata attached to the data “at the hip.”

You don't have to, but it's still mostly a good idea. But this stuff isn't either-or. We can have both.

This is especially true for research oriented files, where consumers are often unable or unwilling to maintain a functional metadata store, and do a lot of manual file handling. Saying "well, somebody could have set up a super-awesome metadata system that track this" doesn't magically make those resources exist.